Filipinos love sweets! Some of my personal favourites are biko and leche flan. These memorable for me because of their sugary, palatable taste. Sweet foods have a reputation of being high in calories but yet so irresistible that you can’t just have one bite!
For several decades now, food scientists and researchers have come up with other ways to enjoy sweets and consume less calories, through the use of sugar substitutes. However, recently, more and more consumers are questioning the safety of these products.
A BALITA reader asked: What are the effects of aspartame on one’s health?
This is a great question, but first let’s discuss what aspartame is. Aspartame, commonly marketed as NutraSweet and Equal, is a sweetener or sugar substitute that is about 200 times sweeter than table sugar. It has about 4 calories per 1 gram, which is about the same amount of calories as 1 gram of regular table sugar. Less aspartame is used to achieve the same level of sweetness as sugar because of its intensity. Therefore, foods where aspartame is used to substitute sugar would typically have fewer calories. Aspartame is used in many ‘diet’ versions of foods and drinks, such as pop, yogurt, and desserts.
There are a lot of rumours about the dangers of aspartame, and it has been blamed for health issues such as seizures, brain tumour and multiple sclerosis. However, Health Canada has disproven these claims. In fact, for any sugar substitute to be available for sale in the country, they would have undergone strict tests and then be approved by Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
Many people think that aspartame is a ‘toxic’ chemical and that it is harmful to the body. However, each molecule is actually composed of two amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. These two amino acids are also readily available in small amounts in foods we consume everyday, such as milk, eggs and some vegetables. When these amino acids are broken down, the body cannot differentiate between their food sources. In Canada, the amount given as a maximum guideline for aspartame consumption varies according to weight. On average, depending on their built, an individual would have to consume 10-13 cans of aspartame-sweetened soda a day to reach amounts at which it can be considered dangerous. However, aspartame is dangerous at any amount for individuals with phenylketonuria, a unique genetic disorder because they cannot break down one of the amino acids.
The bottom line is that aspartame can be part of a healthy diet when consumed in moderation. Pregnant and/or lactating women are not restricted from consuming aspartame and foods that use these. However, the danger is that overconsumption of these foods may replace those that belong to a healthy diet, which should include fresh fruits and vegetables. If you have Type 2 diabetes and are thinking about using aspartame or sweeteners, consult your doctor. Very low blood sugar as a result of restrictive avoidance of sugar can be deadly.
In the same way that I would choose a leche flan over cuchinta at a Filipino gathering, using aspartame or a sugar substitute is a matter of personal choice.